Average first reply time

What is average first reply time?

This metric shows how long it it takes for your support team to get back to a customer’s first request.

Why should you measure average first reply time?

First reply time is more important than overall reply times because it’s an acknowledgment to the customer that their issue is being looked into.

It also indicates how quickly your team is addressing new tickets, and helps you see if you have enough team members to deal with volume.

Different channels have different expectations for first reply time, but in general a high first reply time means that customers may channel switch because they aren’t sure if you’ve received their message or are working on their case.

— — — — — — — — — — — —

Average resolution time

What is average resolution time?

This metric looks at how long it takes from a case being opened to being closed.

Why should you measure average resolution time?

Short average resolution time shows managers that their team is working fast and efficiently.

— — — — — — — — — — — —

Average number of replies per case

What is average number of replies per case?

This metric shows how many replies it takes for the customer to have their issue resolved.

Why should you measure average number of replies per case?

This metric, along with average resolution time, can show how effective your team is, and indicates how much effort your customers have to put in to get their issue resolved.

A high average number indicates the queries are probably not going to the right person straight away, and indicates a high effort customer experience.

Customers usually don’t want to waste time going back and forth – they expect the agent to solve their issue quickly.

A high number of replies could also mean the agents aren’t properly digging, or are giving incorrect responses that means customers have to get in contact again.

Percentage of escalations

What is percentage of escalations?

This metric looks at the number of cases which need to be taken to senior levels of management in order to be resolved.

This can also mean cases that have not been replied to within timeframes set by SLAs.

Why should you measure percentage of escalations?

This helps you measure how often your customers are experiencing pain – if you’re not escalating a lot of cases it means your agents are empowered or trained to provide an effortless experience to the customer.

Number of replies per day

What is number of replies per day?

This metric looks at how many replies your team sends per day in total.

Why should you measure number of replies per day?

This metric is useful to show how quickly your team is working and if demand is growing over time.

— — — — — — — — — — — —

Number of positive social mentions

What is number of positive social mentions?

This social customer service metric looks at how many positive mentions or reviews your company has received on social media.

Why should you measure number of positive social mentions?

Word of mouth is an effective lead generation source.

If a customer publicly praises your company, it might encourage their own followers to check out your service or product.

You can use this metric track increases in positive mentions to see if any new initiatives have led to more positive feedback.

— — — — — — — — — — — —

Number of swag packages sent

What is number of swag packages sent?

Number of welcome packs, free gifts or vouchers your team has sent out in a given time frame, and for what reason.

Why should you measure number of swag packages sent?

This metric helps you keep track of how many gifts you’re sending out and what you’re sending them for.

There are several reasons you could be sending free swag out to people, such as thanking them for:

Participation in debugging/beta testing

Positive feedback

Reporting bugs

Reporting security issues

If you find you’re sending lots of free gifts to make up for security issues or bugs, this could warrant further investigation.

On the other hand, you might want to set a goal for the number of handwritten letters or swag you send out to customers, because they result in positive interactions.

— — — — — — — — — — — —

Call abandonment rate

What is call abandonment rate?

The number of callers who hang up the phone before being connected.

Why should you measure call abandonment rate?

Understanding when customers abandon support requests helps identify how long you’re forcing them to wait, and how this affects their experience.

If your call abandonment rate is high you can look at things such as: is the hold message setting good expectations, is the hold music annoying, how long are people waiting on average before they hang up?

It’s worth noting here that disconnections can also occur due to technical or network problems.

— — — — — — — — — — — —

Call wait time

What is call wait time?

The average length of time customers who call wait before before being connected with an agent.

Why should you measure call wait time?

The longer customers have to wait, the more time it takes for their issue to be resolved, which means more effort.

If your call wait time is high, it indicates that you need more support agents to answer calls, or need to provide customers with alternative support channels, such as self-service, to reduce the volume of calls.

— — — — — — — — — — — —

Multi-channel attribution

What is multi-channel attribution?

This metric lets you see where your customers are connecting with you and how often.

Why should you measure multi-channel attribution?

Having an idea of which channels are used more frequently and the kinds of questions that come through them allows you to effectively focus your support as well as knowing where you may need to work on building your brand.

Pages viewed per session

What is pages viewed per session?

This metric looks at which articles are viewed each time someone visits your knowledge base.

Why should you measure pages viewed per session?

You can use this data to track visitor behavior. You can see whether certain articles are viewed more frequently than others, which ones are viewed in succession, and which ones aren’t viewed at all.

This information gives you clues as to what information customers need and which articles could be improved.

For instance, if you find that customers are viewing certain knowledge base articles frequently but you’re still receiving lots of calls or emails about those topics, you ought to think about updating those articles.

— — — — — — — — — — — —

Ratio of views to submitted cases

What is ratio of views to submitted cases?

This looks at the ratio of people who are able to self-serve rather than needing to talk to an agent. You want to increase this over time.

Why should you measure ratio of views to submitted case?

Looking the ratio of knowledge base views to submitted cases helps you to see how well your customers are able to self-serve.

You want to have more people self serving than talking to your agents.

— — — — — — — — — — — —

Number of positive votes

What is the number of positive votes?

This metric refers to the number of upvotes (or likes) articles on your knowledge base receive.

Why should you measure the number of positive votes?

This helps you to see which knowledge base articles are the most helpful to your customers, and are often those that are read the most.

These articles are the ones that you should prioritise keeping up to date.

— — — — — — — — — — — —

Bounce rates

What are bounce rates?

This metric refers to the frequency that visitors leave your knowledge base after visiting just one page.

Why should you measure bounce rates?

Measuring your bounce rate helps you to see whether users are using the content on your knowledge base effectively.

If you have a very high bounce rate it’s likely that customers aren’t able to easily find what they need, and are choosing a different support channel instead.

— — — — — — — — — — — —

New vs returning users

What is new vs returning users?

This metric looks at how many people are visiting your knowledge base for the first time, compared to users who have visited it before.

Why should you measure new vs returning users?

Looking at new vs returning users allows you to see what proportion of customers are turning to your knowledge base for self-service support.

If you find that you have higher volume of returning users, it may mean that new customers (or existing customers) are unaware that your knowledge base exists.

If you have a higher volume of new users and few returning users, it could mean that your knowledge base isn’t helpful, so your customers are turning to alternative support channels instead.

Enjoyed this article? Share it!

Don't miss our latest success secrets

Want the best customer support and startup content delivered straight to your inbox?

About the author

Jamie Edwards

Jamie is the co-founder and COO at Kayako, the effortless customer service software that helps teams be more productive and build customer loyalty. You can find him helping our customers deliver customer service so good it becomes their competitive advantage.